News Update
April 7, 2010

NCBA Encouraged by Vilsack Trade Mission to Japan

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is pleased with the news of U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s trade mission to Japan.

“We appreciate Secretary Vilsack’s efforts to strengthen the relationship between the U.S. and Japan when it comes to trade in agricultural products between our two countries,” said Steve Foglesong, NCBA president. “Japan is one of our top trading partners, and it’s critical that the U.S. continues to engage with Japan and all of our international trading partners about the necessity of abiding by science-based international guidelines in beef trade.”

Following a detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the U.S. in 2003, Japan closed its borders to U.S. beef. Today, Japan only allows beef products from cattle under 21 months of age, costing U.S. producers roughly $1 billion in lost export revenues each year. 

Since 1990, USDA’s BSE surveillance program has resoundingly demonstrated that BSE in the U.S. cattle herd is virtually non-existent. Internationally, it is likely that BSE will be fully eradicated from the planet within the next 10 to 15 years. The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has classified the Unites States as a controlled risk country for BSE — the same designation as Japan. This classification means that all beef products, regardless of age, can be safely traded as long as specified risk materials are removed.

“We are encouraged to see that the Obama Administration has announced that it intends to engage Japan in discussions about science-based import standards. Japan’s failure to apply the OIE guidelines continues to result in significant losses for the U.S. beef industry — limiting us to about 25% of our potential market there,” Foglesong said.

— Release by NCBA.

14.6% of Bulls Didn’t Make the Grade at Soundness Clinics

Bull breeding soundness clinics were conducted in southwest Missouri during mid-March. The results show that 18 of the 123 bulls (14.6%) didn’t make a minimum score to qualify as a satisfactory potential breeder.

“This is a higher rate than the average of the last seven clinics dating back to 2005. That average is 10.3%,” said Eldon Cole, a livestock specialist with University of Missouri (MU) Extension.

The breeding soundness exam is performed by veterinarians and includes semen evaluation, scrotal measurement, accessory sex gland palpation and penile evaluation. Mobility and feet and leg soundness are also checked. Two aspects of breeding ability not evaluated are libido and the actual servicing of a cow.

“The primary reason for bulls failing this spring was a low percentage of normal sperm,” said Cole. “One part of the criteria requires a 70% or greater normal sperm count. Twelve of the 18 bulls not making the cut had sperm counts below 70%. Some fell as low as 10%. Thirty-eight bulls out of the 123 had normal counts of 90% and above.”

For more information related to these clinics and reasons for bulls failing a breeding soundness exam, click here to sign up to receive the Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, the electronic supplement to the Angus Beef Bulletin. E-mailed monthly, the April 20 edition will contain an extended version of this release on the Management page.

— Adapted from release by MU Extension.

Prospective Plantings Not a Surprise. It’s Weather that Could Shape Grower Decisions

There are many factors that drive crop producers’ management plans, but, ultimately, the weather may make the decision for them.

U.S. growers are projected to plant record soybean acres this year, fewer corn acres than anticipated, and even less soft red winter wheat. Things might have been different if weather last fall would have been more cooperative.

“A very wet fall prevented a lot of growers from harvesting at a normal time and allowing for timely wheat planting,” said Matt Roberts, an Ohio State University (OSU) Extension agricultural economist with the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics. “Because of the weather, growers also couldn’t get a lot of field work done in the fall, such as fertilizer applications.”

As a result, numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Prospective Plantings Report, released March 31, turned out to be what analysts were predicting. Corn growers intend to plant 88.8 million acres of corn, a record 78.1 million acres of soybeans, and 53.8 million acres of wheat. Ohio growers, specifically, planted about 200,000 acres less of soft red winter wheat than last year. In addition, they are planting 4.6 million acres of soybeans, up slightly from last year, and 3.7 million acres of corn, up 350,000 acres from last year and just 150,000 acres shy of the 2007 planting record.

“There was a lot of anticipation building for this report since the January report, which indicated a decline of wheat seedings of about 6 million acres. People were concerned about where those acres would end up, and we see a lot of those acres going back into corn and soybeans,” said Roberts, who also holds an appointment with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC). “We also knew we would see an increase in cotton acreage with farmers in the south wanting to return to cotton who had moved to corn a few years ago because of the relative prices. We do see that change reflected here.”

Roberts said that Ohio growers planted fewer wheat acres this year because of the fall weather conditions and weak wheat prices due to large inventories of the crop. Whether farmers plant corn or soybeans this spring will depend on what happened last fall in terms of harvest and field operations.

“There seems to be no major shift one way or the other toward corn or soybeans,” Roberts said.

Now that this report is out of the way, the markets will now be turning their attention strictly to planting weather.

— Release by OSU Extension.

AgriLabs Introduces Colostrx Multi Species

AgriLabs today announced the launch of Colostrx® Multi Species for use in foals, puppies, kittens, kids, lambs, fawns, alpacas, llamas and calves.

Newborn animals need quality colostrum to reduce health problems at the beginning of life. Colostrum is high in energy, protein, vitamins and minerals and is a critical source of immunoglobulin required in the first few hours after birth to protect against early exposure to disease.

“Unfortunately, not all maternal colostrum contains the necessary immunoglobulin levels,” reports Joel Ehrenzweig, AgriLabs technical services manager. “With a significant variability between each animal’s colostrum, relying solely on it can produce a false sense of security.”

Failure of passive transfer (FPT) will occur if maternal colostrum is poor in quality (insufficient immunoglobulin to be protective), insufficient in quantity, contaminated, unavailable, or fed too late.

“Newborn animals with FPT are more likely to sicken or die,” Ehrenzweig continued. “While high-quality maternal colostrum is often viewed as the ‘gold standard,’ feeding Colostrx Multi Species increases IgG levels to newborns and is an effective, convenient alternative of preventing FPT.”

AgriLabs encourages use of Colostrx Multi Species when reliable, high-quality colostrum is unavailable; not enough colostrum is produced; the baby is orphaned; disease could be transmitted from mother to baby; colostrum is contaminated; the baby needs additional globulin protein support; there has been a stressful birth; feeding runts; or feeding during bad weather.

The product is currently available from AgriLabs distributors and their dealers.

— Release by AgriLabs, Inc.

— Compiled by Mathew Elliott, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.